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National Guard (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
The National Guard (Garde nationale) is a branch of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) formed in 2018 by President Emmanuel Weyi. It was originally envisioned as a program of integrating the more than seventy rogue armed groups throughout the DRC into the central government's control, by making them officially part a new National Guard. These armed militant formations were reorganized into mixed battalions which became the base of the Guard, with multiple organized for each province of the DRC depending on the number of militants there. The National Guard will remain completely separate from the normal Land Forces of the FARDC. According to the Ministry of Defense and Veterans' Affairs, the government plans to demobilize at least half of these militias by 2020. The total permanent strength of the National Guard will be around 42,000 men. The National Guard will serve as a reserve and could be called upon to assist in putting down insurrections. President Weyi has stated that the inspiration was taken from the French National Guard, which was revived by the French government in 2016 in response to continued terrorist attacks. The new battalions of the National Guard underwent training from Belgian, French, and U.S. military advisors as part of the integration process. While the 14 brigades of the Congolese regular army consist of various recruits from all over the country, the National Guard troops remain stationed in the provinces in which their militias originated. Organization Each of the 26 Congolese provinces that came into existence in 2015 have a National Guard battalion stationed there (with the exception of Kinshasa, the capital). However, for administrative purposes several regional commands were formed to oversee the battalions in their jurisdiction based on the original 11 provinces that existed from 1997 until the 2015 reform. The following is a list of major National Guard formations and the city they are headquartered in. *'National Guard Central Command' (Kinshasa) **Guard Communications Center **Parachute Commando Battalion *'Katanga Operations Command' (Lubumbashi) **1st Tanganyika Territorial Battalion (Kalemie) **2nd Lualaba Territorial Battalion (Kamina) **3rd Haut-Lomami Territorial Battalion (Kolwezi) **4th Haut-Katanga Territorial Battalion (Lubumbashi) *'Kasaï-Oriental Operations Command' (Mbuji-Mayi) **5th Lomami Territorial Battalion (Kabinda) **6th Sankuru Territorial Battalion (Lusambo) **7th Kasaï-Oriental Territorial Battalion (Mbuji-Mayi) *'Kasaï-Occidental Operations Command' (Kananga) **8th Kasaï-Central Territorial Battalion (Kananga) **9th Kasaï Territorial Battalion (Luebo) *'Bas-Congo Operations Command' (Matadi) **10th Kongo-Central Territorial Battalion *'Bandundu Operations Command' (Bandundu) **11th Kwango Territorial Battalion (Kenge) **12th Kwilu Territorial Battalion (Kikwit) **13th Mai-Ndombe Territorial Battalion (Inongo) *'Équatuer Operations Command' (Mbandaka) **14th Équatuer Territorial Battalion (Mbandaka) **15th Tshuapa Territorial Battalion (Boende) **16th Mongala Territorial Battalion (Lisala) **17th Nord-Ubangi Territorial Battalion (Gbadolite) **18th Sud-Ubangi Territorial Battalion (Gemena) *'Orientale Operations Command' (Kisangani) **19th Bas-Uele Territorial Battalion (Buta) **20th Haut-Uele Territorial Battalion (Isiro) **21st Ituri Territorial Battalion (Bunia) **22nd Tshopo Territorial Battalion (Kisangani) *'Maneima Operations Command' (Kindu) **23rd Maneima Territorial Battalion *'Nord Kivu Operations Command' (Goma) **24th Nord Kivu Territorial Battalion *'Sud Kivu Operations Command' (Bukavu) **25th Sud Kivu Territorial Battalion Category:DR Congo Category:Military